U.S. State Dept spokesperson Value to step down after two years By Reuters

By Simon Lewis

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. State Division spokesperson Ned Value will step down this month after greater than two years and take up a brand new place reporting to Secretary of State Antony Blinken, the secretary mentioned on Tuesday.

Value was sworn in as spokesperson on Jan. 20, 2021, the day Joe Biden was inaugurated as president. His service was marked by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the chaotic withdrawal of diplomats and different personnel from Afghanistan.

In an announcement, Blinken mentioned Value held greater than 200 briefings with journalists, performing as a face and voice of U.S. overseas coverage.

“Ned has helped the U.S. authorities defend and promote press freedom across the globe and modeled the transparency and openness we advocate for in different nations. His contributions will profit the division lengthy after his service,” Blinken mentioned.

Shaun Tandon, president of the State Division Correspondents’ Affiliation, praised Value for restoring the division’s every day press briefings and going through reporters’ scrutiny, as within the case of the Afghan pullout.

The division chargeable for U.S. diplomacy held briefings solely sporadically through the administration of former President Donald Trump.

“Because of Ned, the Every day Press Briefing now appears routine and that’s the way it must be — it affords a possibility for press from all over the world to query the overseas coverage of the US, usually critically, and requires the State Division to defend it,” Tandon mentioned in an announcement. “It’s a tribute to the well being of American democracy.”